Five new discus wont eat, need advice

I just started my first discus tank 65 gal with 30 gal sump. (converted one of my reef tanks) The tank has been set up and cycled for three month in preparation for the addition of the discus.

All water parameters are good other tank mates (neon and rum nose tetras) are in excellent health.

I live in China so the options I have for fish is limited but the fish I did buy look good.

I put them in the tanks yesterday mid day, lights off, then left the room for several hours about 6 pm I tried to feed some blood worm and only one fish showed any interest, I tried again at 10;30 pm and this morning at 7:00 am and have the same results. I have also tried some discus pellet and some flake food the tetras eat.

The fish show no interest in the food.

Is it just a mater of time and acclamation to the new environment or am I missing something?

Any help, advice will be greatly appreciated.

Ed,Welcome to SimplyDiscus!

It can definitely take several days for new fish to settle in. Just to be sure nothing else is going on can you post some pictures of the fish and tell us some more about your tank water and parameters?

Hth,
Al

Quote:

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Originally Posted by brewmaster15

Ed,Welcome to SimplyDiscus!

It can definitely take several days for new fish to settle in. Just to be sure nothing else is going on can you post some pictures of the fish and tell us some more about your tank water and parameters?

Hth,
Al

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Attachment 124697

Hi Al,

Don't have pic of fish with me but this is the tank about 6 weeks ago, it is 40 X 20 X 20 65 gal with 30 gal sump.
The sump uses a filter sock that I change every 2 days and some ceramic rocks in the blue bucket for biological and also in the sump, There is also a small fuge in the center of the sump to start / grow plants.
Two 300 watt heaters and a .5 HP chiller (it gets very hot in Suzhou)
The lighting is two EcoTech Radion lights on at 2 PM off at 10 PM on a planted tank daylight schedule.
CO2 injection (I use it sparingly)
The water parameters are
temp 84
Ph 6.7 to 7 depending on CO2 operation
10 dGH

I have been in the hobby for more than 30 years, I did try discus when I first started and was not successful but I have always admired these fish.

I joined this group a few months ago and did a lot of reading before I bought the discus but like anything else you think you are prepared and when you get them home there is allays something you didn't think about, like feeding them.

I could use some advice on feeding the discus, basically diet is my concern, what is the best diet for them, I know blood worms are not that nutritious but I am using them to stimulate there appetite. I have some discus pellet and flake food also marine pellet for my reef tank.

Any advice is appreciated.

It doesn't matter how long you have been in this hobby or what your experience is there is allays more to learn.

Ps will send pics of fish tonight China time.

Attachment 124698Attachment 124699Attachment 124700Attachment 124701

These are the fish and current set up

The fish look both alert and healthy. I have noticed that my fish seem to have different tastes in foods and how they eat those foods. One prefers something floating and likes to graze on the bottom. Others like to snatch the food that they get floating mid tank and graze the bottom. Most will eat from my fingers but two like to hang below those feeding to get the scraps. Try feeding a mixture of foods, maybe four or so at one time. Ask the one whom you bought the fish from what they were fed and seemed to prefer. I have one fish who is 1 and half years old. I seldom see him eat or poop. He is one half of a breeding pair. He is not fat nor is he thin. Also it is said by several on YouTube and I have tried it, orange peels will stimulate appetites. I have one fish who will peck at the peels. He likes to eat them.

Be safe in these dangerous times, Ed. And all of the information you will ever need is here.

If after several more days of no eating, try boosting the temp to 86/87 for a spell. Having just put the fish into the tank yesterday, don’t worry too much until more days have past. Also, in addition to what you already have tried regarding food, try some freeze dried blackworms. The suggestion put forth by peewee1 abt asking the seller what they fed the fish is spot on. Good luck and don’t worry too much at this stage. Several weeks of no eating is another story.

Can you find out what the breeder was feeding them?

Thanks,

I have an other question, are discus usual easy skittish?
When I woke up this morning I found one on the floor still alive, put him back in, he laid on the bottom for a few minuets but seems to be fine now.
Also later when I walked into the room there was a lot of splashing and they managed to put quite a bit of water on the floor.

You do not have a cover on your aquarium? Watch the one that jumped out. There may develop slime coat damage. If so treat with salt and Prime. The coat will restore in lest than a week's time. This will not require quarantine of the fish if you choose not to. I had the same happen to a Blue Scorpion. She looked bad for a few days but now she is back to her beautiful self and spawned just last week.

Yeah, I like rimless tanks but there's always a risk with discus that can be easily spooked.

OK back to the feeding I just spent the last hour on line trying to find black worms and they are not available here so I ordered beef heart, I will give that a try.

Also Prime is not available here I would need to order it from the states at a cost of $50 a bottle due to shipping.

The up side is fish and equipment are very cheap hear I paid $5 a piece for my discus at what would be considered a high end shop, I can get 1 inch discuss at 50 cents a piece.
Marine is the same, I paied about $1.500 for my reef setup fully stocked the sane in the US would cost me 5 time that.

OK it is day 4 and I still cant get them to eat, I did get some food from the shop I bought them from but they wont take that either.

I tested the water
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 1 ppm
Ph 7.1
dGH 9

I am trying to feed 4 times a day, I leave the food in for 30 min before removing.

The discus are foraging and picking at things in the tank so it looks like they will eat I just haven't found anything they are interested in.

I have tried blood worm, discus pellet, hamburg, frozen mysis and brine shrimp, marine pellet, and flake food, I will get beef heart tomorrow, I will also raise the water temp to 86.

Is there something I am missing or not doing properly?

Have you noticed the color of their feces? Their colors seem fine and they are not hiding. I would not leave food in there for 30 mins, especially beef heart. Can you order prime through amazon or ebay?

It’s only been four days so don’t panic just yet. .

The discus are finally starting to pick at the blood worm, I can't get them to take anything else but at least they are eating something.
They look healthy no visible problems.

I guess I just need to give it time.

Thanks all for your help, it is greatly appreciated.

I'm pretty new to discus but I've found that new fish benefit greatly from a feed of mashed peas. They really like them and it gets their digestive system moving, which seems to initiate a good appetite. Like the others said, warm them up. It has worked for me.